Tissue dispenser



y 14, 1968 I R. ADELL 3,383,012

4 TISSUE DISPENSER Filed Oct 31, 1966 I NVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,383,012 TISSUE DISPENSER Robert Adel], 1525Ardmoor Drive, Birmingham, Mich. 48010 Filed Oct. 31, 1966, Ser. No.590,938 7 Claims. (Cl. 22146) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A holder fortissue dispensers comprising a container portion having a dispensingopening therein and a bottom portion pivota-lly connected thereto, theportions being molded from a plastic material as a single element. Thetop of the container is provided with a pivoted cover positioned overthe opening. A means to releasably lock the bottom portion to thecontainer portion.

This invention relates to dispensers and particularly to a dispenserhaving an aperture from which tissue is removably enclosed by a hingedcover.

While various dispensers have been provided heretofore in the art forsupporting a box of tissue which is removed seriatim therefrom, thedispenser of the present invention is novel in that a hinged cover isemployed to seal the opening and protect the tissues,. Containers havebeen provided for the tissues heretofore having a slot from whichindividual tissue is removed. The tissues are exposed until they areused and the present invention provides a closure element which protectsthe exposed tissue from dirt and grime until it is to be removed fromthe container. The dispenser of the present invention is made in twomolds, one for producing the container portion having a hinged bottomwhich supports the box of tissue, the other for producing the hingedcover. The bottom may support the container on a table or bench or itmay be attached to a support such as a door, dash panel, back of a seator other portion of a vehicle body. It is to be understood that thecontainer portion may be furnished without the cover when employed inareas free of dust and grime. The relation of the parts is such thatafter the molding the material of the hinges will have memory to movethe bottom to open position and the top beyond closed position.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide acontainer having a hinged bottom, a top having an opening and side wallsmolded as a unit; to provide a unit container having a hinged bottomwith a top having an opening through which tissues are wit-hdrawn whichis closed by a hinged cover which is urged downwardly against the top ofthe container by the memory in the hinge material; to mold a unitcontainer having side walls and a top with an opening therein and ahinged bottom having side flanges which swing upwardly into closedlocked position with the bottom edge of the container portion, and ingeneral, to provide a container which is simple in construct-ion, whichmay have a cover for the top opening and which is economical ofmanufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will bespecifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for abetter understanding of the invention, to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a container embodying features of the presentinvent-ion;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 1taken on the line 22 thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged broken view of the structure illustrated inFIGURE 2, taken within the circle 3 thereof;

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FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2,taken within the circle 4 thereof, and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 1,taken on the line 55 thereof.

In the drawings, a container 8 is illustrated of a size and dimensionsfor receiving and enclosing a box of tissue. The container has a hingedcover 9 which is raised to expose a top opening 12 through which atissue extends which is retained clean and sanitary by the closed cover.The opening 12 is provided in a convex top 13- of the container portionfrom which side walls 14 and 15 and end walls 16 downwardly extend. Abottom 17 is secured by a hinge portion 18 to the bottom of the sidewall 14 with a flange 19 thereabout which engages the inner surface ofthe side walls 14 and 15 and the end walls 16 when in closed position.The side wall 15 has a reinforcing releasing flange 21 near the bottomfrom which a locking flange 22 extends downwardly. The locking flangehas sloping faces 23 and 24 which extend into a recess 25 in the bottomflange 19 opposite to the flange adjacent to the hinge 18. The recess 25is formed by sloping faces 26 and 27 in the outer face of the flange.When the locking flange 22 is mated with the recess 25 and reinforced bythe flange 21, the bottom 17 will be secured along the side 15 in closedposition as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The container portion is molded from a suitable plastic material whichprovides resiliency to the hinge portion 18. The bottom 17 isillustrated in dot and dash line to show it extending at right anglesfrom the wall 14 during the molding operation.The wall of the containerherein illustrated is approximately .10 inch in thickness while thehinge portion is of substantially less thickness. It is to be understoodthat the thickness of material will vary with different materials andsize of containers so that the invention is not limited to theparticular dimension mentioned.

An offset portion 29 is formed in the top 13 of the container to form arecess 31 parallel to the top opening 12. A flange 32 which is joined bya hinge portion 33 to the cover 9 is secured within the recess 31, asillustrated in FIGURES 2 and 4. The flange 32 is disposed approximatelyfrom the side flange 34 when molded as a unit with the cover so thatwhen the flange 32 is secured in the recess 31 the memory in thematerial of the hinge portion 33 will attempt to urge the cover to aposit-ion beyond the closed position so that it will always be retainedin closed position. A front side 3-5 on the cover is provided with aprojecting flange 36 which may be engaged by the finger to raise thecover. The sides 34 and 35 are joined to end walls 37 which are ofarcuate shape at the bottom to mate with the concave top 13.

It will be noted that the end 39 of the flange 19 adjacent the hingeportion 18 slopes toward the hinge portion 18 and that the end 41 of thewall 14 of the container portion also slopes toward the hinge portion toreduce the length thereof. Since the bottom 17 is molded when disposedin extension of the bottom edges of the walls 14, 15 and 16 the memoryin the material of the hinge portion 18 urges the cover to openposition. This will occur when the releasing flange 21 is raised to movethe locking flange 22 from the recess 25 along the flange 19 of thebottom. It will be noted in FIGURE 5 that the bottom 17 has extendingedges 42 which engage the bottom edges of the end wall 16 and thelocking flange 22 when the flanges 19 engage the inner surface of thewalls. The extensions 42 limit the movement of the bottom 17 beyond theplane of the end walls which is also true of the hinge portion 18. Thebottom 17 is provided with a pair of apertures 44 by which it may besecured 3 directly to a Wall, a door of a vehicle or to any othersurface. An aperture 45 may be provided in the bottom for receiving afinger for releasing the bottom from closed position when the bottom isunattached. With this arrangement a closed container is provided for abox of tissue or the like, which is maintained sealed Within the box bythe cover 9 so that the available tissue is not subject to dirt orgrime.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispenser, a single molded clement having a container portionand a bottom, the container portion having side walls, end walls and atop wall with an Opening through the latter from which articles may beremoved, a hinge joining the bottom to the container portion permittingthe bottom to swing into closed position with the container portion,side flanges are provided on the bottom which engage the inner surfaceof the walls of the container portion wherein the outer face of theflange of the bottom opposite to that having the hinge portion has arecess therein and the end of the wall of the container adjacent theretohas a locking flange which engages the recess and locks the bottom tothe container portion.

2. In a dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the bottom is limitedin its inward movement into the container portion by the oppositelydisposed hinge and locking recess and by edges projecting beyond the endflanges of the bottom.

3. In a dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the ends of the sideand bottom adjacent to the hinge slope toward the hinge to reduce thewidth thereof.

4. In a dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the wall of thecontainer portion having the projecting edge has a flange extendingoutwardly thereof for reinforcing the projecting edge and providingmeans for releasing it from the recess in the flange of the bottom.

5. In a dispenser, a single molded element having a container portionand a bottom, the container portion having side walls, end walls and atop wall with an opening through the latter from which articles may beremoved, a hinge joining the bottom to the container portion permittingthe bottom to swing into closed position with the container portion,wherein an offset portion forms a recess in the top adjacent to theopening, and a cover for said opening having a hinged and an extendingflange which is secured in said recess, the cover, hinge and flangebeing molded as a unit in such relation to each other as to have thememory in the hinge urge the cover to closed position.

6. In a dispenser as recited in claim 5, wherein the flange is disposedat a greater angle to the cover when being molded than when secured tothe top so as to substantially increase the closing force of the cover.

7. In a dispenser as recited in claim 6, wherein the top of thecontainer portion is concave and the mating edges of the lid arearcuately formed to mate with the concave surface of the top.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,106,108 1/1938 Parsons 22162 XR2,604,205 7/1952 Patterson 22162 XR 2,854,134 9/1958 Humphrey 22146 XR3,223,281 12/1965 Larkin 221-61 XR WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner.

